Manlove v. Lavelle

235 S.W. 324, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1127
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 30, 1921
DocketNo. 6617.
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 235 S.W. 324 (Manlove v. Lavelle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manlove v. Lavelle, 235 S.W. 324, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1127 (Tex. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

SMITH, J.

An automobile driven by Mrs. W. C. Manlove and a bicycle ridden by Thomas Lavelle, a 15% year old boy, collided at the intersection of Taylor and Fourth streets, in San Antonio, resulting in certain injuries to Lavelle. Mrs. Glory Lavelle, for herself and as next friend of the injured boy, her son, brought suit against Mrs. Manlove and the latter’s husband, resulting in the recovery of a judgment in favor of Mrs. La-velle for $300, and in favor of the son for $500. The acts of negligence charged against Mrs. Manlove were that she failed to keep a proper lookout in turning into Taylor street from Fourth street, failed to keep her automobile under control, and was operating the car at an excessive rate of speed; that she failed to give any signal of her intention to turn into Taylor street, failed to blow her automobile horn or signal with the hand, and, in turning into Taylor from Fourth street, did not pass beyond the center of the intersection of the streets before making the turn, thereby “cutting the corner”; and that Mrs. Manlove discovered the peril of the boy in time to have avoided the collision with the means at hand, but did not do so. The defendants charged Lavelle with contributory negligence in failing to keep a proper lookout, in failing to see and heed Mrs. Man-love’s hand signals; that he operated his bicycle in a careless manner, and at a negligent rate of speed, and went out of his way in an effort to run his wheel around in front of the automobile after the latter had passed beyond the center of the street intersection.

In response to special issues submitted to them the jury found that both Mrs. Manlove and Lavelle were operating their vehicles at a negligent rate of speed under the circumstances, but had their respective vehicles “under control,” and that the negligent rate of speed in neither case was the proximate cause of the accident. The jury also found that Mrs. Manlove did not discover Lavelle’s peril in time to'avoid the accident, with the means at hand, and that, although she did not sound her automobile horn at the time of turning into Taylor street, the failure to do so did not cause or contribute to the accident. The jury further found that Lavelle kept a proper lookout for other vehicles, did not "pass any other cars at the intersection of the two streets mentioned, and did not attempt to run around in front of Mrs. Man-love’s car. The court did not submit to the jury the issue of whether or not Mrs. Man-love kept a proper lookout for other vehicles, nor was the submission of such issue requested. The court also refused appellant’s request for the submission of the issue of whether or not Mrs. Manlove signaled, with her hand, her intention to turn from Fourth street into Taylor.

It will be seen, then, that the questions of the rate of speed, and of the control of the vehicles, were eliminated from the case as to both parties, as were also the questions of discovered peril on the part of Mrs. Man-love and of contributory negligence of La-velle. This left in the case but one submitted issue: Did Mrs. Manlove, in turning from Fourth street into Taylor, fail to pass beyond the center of the intersection before making the turn, and thereby “cut the corner”? On this issue the jury found against Mrs. Manlove, and further found that this movement on her part, made in this way, was the proximate cause of the accident.

Appellants urge with much force that the finding of the jury that Lavelle had his bicycle under control just before and at the time of the accident is in conflict with the further finding that Lavelle was operating his bicycle at a negligent rate of speed at that time. We do not understand that control and excessive speed are inconsistent in the operation of a vehicle. The jury evidently did not think so in this ease, because they found that, while both Mrs. Manlove and Lavelle were moving too fast, they had their respective vehicles under control. A vehicle may be traveling at a highly excessive rate of speed, and yet be under such control as to proceed in safety in the normal course unless some unexpected danger suddenly intervenes which could not have reasonably been anticipated. Here, according to the jury’s findings, Lavelle was traveling at a negligent rate of speed, but had his wheel under control, and, but for the fact that an approaching ear suddenly and unexpectedly cut a corner and intercepted him, he would have pursued his course in sáfety. Appellants’ fifth assignment of error raising this question is overruled, as is also the seventh assignment, for the same reasons.

In their eighth assignment of error appellants complain of the following instruction to the jury:

*326 “In connection -with the question relating to contributory negligence, I charge you that the plaintiff Thomas Lavelle is a minor, and the term ‘negligence,’ as used'in said terms, means the failure to exercise ordinary care; and ordinary care is that degree of care that a person of the same age, intelligence, and experience as the plaintiff Thomas Lavelle would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.”

Appellants contend that this charge was erroneous in that:

“The plaintiff being at the time of the accident about 16 years old and well experienced in the riding of a bicycle on the streets, and there being no evidence whatever that he was not possessed of normal faculties or that any negligent act of his in the riding of his bicycle is excused by his want of discretion, he was conclusively presumed to have been capable of contributory negligence.”

This assignment must he sustained. While it is true that the degree of care imposed upon a child of tender years in determining its negligence in a given case is only such care as ah ordinarily prudent person of like age, experience, and intelligence would exercise under the same or similar circumstances, yet it is equally true that, unless the evidence in a given case shows or tends to show the child to he so wanting in age, experience, or ordinary mental faculties as to impair its discretion, it is presumed to know and appreciate, as fully as an adult, the dangers and probable consequences of its acts. The question is one of fact, and the burden of proving those disabilities of the child is upon the plaintiff in an action to recover for injuries sustained by it; and, when ¿here is no affirmative evidence of such disabilities, it seems to be universally held that it is reversible error for the court to submit the issue to the jury. Railway Co. v. Shiflett, 94 Tex. 131, 58 S. W. 945; Over v. Railway Co., 73 S. W. 535; Cockrell v. Railway Co., 36 Tex. Civ. App. 559, 82 S. W. 529; Railway Co. v. Shiflett, 37 Tex. Civ. App. 541, 84 S. W. 247; Heflin v. Railway Co. 159 S. W. 499; Railway Co. v. Trigo, 101 S. W. 254; Dudley v. Hawkins, 183 S. W. 776; Railway Co. v. Anderson, 187 S. W.491; Traction Co. v. Kumpf, 99 S. W. 863; Dowlen v. Texas, etc., Co., 174 S. W. 674; Waterworks Co. v. White, 44 S. W. 181. The case first cited, Railway Co. v. Shiflett, was originally decided by this court, which held that under the facts the rule was properly applied to the minor, a boy less than 12 years old, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision, upon the sole ground that there was not sufficient testimony of the lack of discretion in the child to warrant the court in submitting the issue to the jury, or to warrant the jury in finding in favor of the plaintiff upon the issue, and in so holding the Supreme Court, Judge Brown writing the opinion, said:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bender v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
600 S.W.2d 257 (Texas Supreme Court, 1980)
Kimble v. Younger Bros.-J. M. English Truck Lines, Inc.
283 S.W.2d 254 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)
Dallas Railway & Terminal Co. v. Rogers
218 S.W.2d 456 (Texas Supreme Court, 1949)
Dorsey v. Younger Bros., Inc.
216 S.W.2d 294 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1948)
Blaugrund v. Gish
179 S.W.2d 257 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1943)
Akers v. Epperson
172 S.W.2d 512 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1942)
Rankin v. Joe D. Hughes
161 S.W.2d 883 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1942)
Smith v. Young
147 S.W.2d 859 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1941)
Sullivan v. Trammell
130 S.W.2d 310 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1939)
Missouri-Kansas-Texas R. Co. v. McKinney
126 S.W.2d 789 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1939)
Texas Prudential Ins. Co. v. Padgett
120 S.W.2d 927 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1938)
Jackson v. Wolff & Marx Co.
116 S.W.2d 467 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1938)
Terrell Wells Health Resort, Inc. v. Severeid
95 S.W.2d 526 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1936)
City of Menard v. Coats
60 S.W.2d 831 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1933)
Austin v. De George
55 S.W.2d 585 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1932)
Stamper v. Scholtz
29 S.W.2d 883 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1930)
Beaumont Iron Works v. Duron
297 S.W. 1075 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1927)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 S.W. 324, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1127, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manlove-v-lavelle-texapp-1921.